A model for testing the efficacy of enrofloxacin (Baytril) administered to turkey hens in the control of Mycoplasma iowae infection in eggs and embryos

In a preliminary experiment, a field infection with Mycoplasma iowae was simulated by inoculating turkey eggs with various doses of two strains of M. iowae immediately before incubation. The strain and dose chosen for further study were those that best multiplied and resulted in infection of embryos from which the organism could be isolated after 25 days of incubation. Ten turkey hens free from infection with mycoplasmae were housed in isolation. The hens were given enrofloxacin in the drinking water at a concentration of 50 ppm on 3 successive days, on two occasions at intervals of 14 days. Within 48 hours of lay, their eggs were each inoculated with 0.1 ml of the selected strain and dose (10(5) colony-forming units/ml) of M. iowae. M. iowae was recovered from almost all eggs laid by hens before the initial medication but not from any, of the eggs laid for several days after each period of medication. Thereafter, the organism could be recovered from a high proportion of inoculated eggs. The treatment of infected turkey laying flocks with enrofloxacin at strategic periods might be helpful in the control of this Mycoplasma by limiting both vertical and horizontal transmission